Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 4,740 Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC acquired 4,740 shares of Ross Stores, Inc., valued at approximately $605,000, during the 2nd quarter, according to its Form 13F filing with the SEC.
• CEO James Grant Conroy sold 39,351 shares of the company at an average price of $146.00, resulting in a reduction of his holdings by 20.03%.
• Ross Stores recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.0%, with a payout ratio of 25.71%.

Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 4,740 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $605,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ROST. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 17.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,121,706 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $4,360,413,000 after acquiring an additional 4,946,101 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 59.3% in the 1st quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 4,055,088 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $518,200,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509,815 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the 1st quarter valued at about $122,043,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 184.4% during the 1st quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,080,532 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $138,081,000 after purchasing an additional 700,546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 21.5% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,392,475 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $177,944,000 after buying an additional 246,648 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In related news, CEO James Grant Conroy sold 39,351 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total value of $5,745,246.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 157,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,944,338. This trade represents a 20.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.76, for a total transaction of $607,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 106,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,149,236.88. This trade represents a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,720 shares of company stock worth $7,761,212 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $156.66 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.36 and a 52-week high of $158.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $150.42 and a 200-day moving average of $142.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.95 billion, a PE ratio of 24.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.02. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 37.37% and a net margin of 9.60%.The business had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.59 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ross Stores's payout ratio is presently 25.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ROST shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $146.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $162.33.

Ross Stores Profile

Ross Stores, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates off-price retail apparel and home fashion stores under the Ross Dress for Less and dd's DISCOUNTS brand names in the United States. Its stores primarily offer apparel, accessories, footwear, and home fashions. The company's Ross Dress for Less stores sell its products at department and specialty stores to middle income households; and dd's DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.

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